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CMAAO Coronavirus Facts and Myth Buster: Covaxin has equivalent immunogenicity against the UK variant

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Dr KK Aggarwal    28 February 2021

With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

1401: The ICMR has tweeted that Covaxin has equivalent immunogenicity against the UK variant and the strains of coronavirus circulating in India.

A preprint review by bioRxiv has stated that Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, can neutralize the UK variant of the SARS-CoV-2. 

Plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT50) was conducted using sera obtained from 26 individuals who had received Covaxin. Bharat Biotech evaluated them against the UK variant and the heterologous strain.

There was a comparable neutralization activity of sera of the vaccinated individuals against both the strains, with similar efficiency.

It isolated and characterized the hCoV-19/India/20203522 SARS-CoV-2 (VOC) 202012/01 from people who had returned from the UK in India, with all key mutations of the UK-variant.

Sera obtained from 38 vaccine recipients, given the BBV152 vaccine-candidate in Phase-2 trial, were found to have equivalent NAb titers to hCoV-19/India/2020770 homologous strain and two heterologous strains carrying the N501Y substitution of the UK-variant - hCoV-19/India/20203522 (UK strain) as well as hCoV-19/India/2020Q111. 

The median ratio of 50% neutralization of sera was 0.8 when compared with hCoV-19/India/2020770 against mutant hCoV19/India/20203522 (UK strain), and 0.9 when compared with hCoV-19/India/2020Q111.

[Source: India Today]

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA

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